US says fighters chase Iranian plane near carrier

By
WITH ANALYSIS FROM MONITOR CORRESPONDENTS AROUND THE WORLD,
EDITED BY DEBRA K. PIOT /
April 30, 1980

Washington

Two American F-14 fighters intercepted an Iranian transport plane Tuesday over the strategic Strait of Hormuz and escorted it back to Iranian airspace, but did not fire on it, official US sources said. A "routine intercept" occurred when an Iranian C-130 flew within 50 nautical miles of the US aircraft carrier Nimitz, on patrol in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf region.